The Era of Conversing with AI Products... What Should Designers Do?

The 2nd Future Design Forum Held
Sharing Various Designs Incorporating AI

"I don't really know much about artificial intelligence (AI), but my company is asking me to design AI products."

Lim Jidong, Senior Advisor at the LG Electronics CX Center, is responsible for analyzing data to uncover customer insights and discovering innovations in customer experience. He is a designer, a data scientist, and has entrepreneurial experience in Silicon Valley. He said that these days, he often hears concerns from people around him saying, "I don't really know AI, but my company wants me to create AI products." Lim explained, "With the advent of large language models (LLMs), AI products that can speak, listen, and understand like humans are being released, and we have entered an era where people converse with products." He added, "Designers need to develop new conversational technologies."

Lim Jidong, Senior Advisor at LG Electronics CX Center, is delivering the keynote speech at the "2nd Future Design Forum" held on the 24th. Provided by Korea Institute of Design Promotion

Lim made these remarks during his keynote speech at the "2nd Future Design Forum" held at COEX in Seoul on the 24th. The event was attended by around 400 people, including representatives from design companies and academia. He suggested, "Agents that perform or substitute work with expertise will have a greater impact on companies and institutions than on individuals, and we need to prepare for this."

It is now an era where not only AI colleagues but even AI team leaders may exist. He emphasized that changes in work methods and organizational structures are necessary. Lim stated, "Companies that embrace fundamental and organizational changes will survive in the AI era," and stressed, "It is essential to proactively accumulate the latest AI experiences in both daily life and work." He also mentioned that even new employees must be able to take on managerial roles when working with AI.

He said, "All personnel will become managers," and added, "Designers must know how to understand others or AI, and possess their own sense, taste, and craftsmanship."

He also remarked, "At every stage of the AI development roadmap, it is important to know what technical limitations exist and what obstacles need to be overcome," adding, "Product updates utilizing AI will never end."

In conclusion, he advised, "Just as computers first appeared, AI will become our 'new pencil,'" and suggested that designers should not become obsessed with simply making better AI, but rather remember the important values they need to focus on. He continued, "Above all, we must care about whether the outcome is something customers will willingly use and enjoy, and whether it makes customers' lives more convenient, comfortable, and happy."

Ko Seongchan, who has been working in product design at Samsung Electronics for 16 years, gave a presentation titled "How MZ Designers Utilize AI." Since 2023, he has conducted design workshops using AI with students from more than 10 universities as part of a Korea Institute of Design Promotion project.

Ko highlighted an excellent example: "In a workshop held last month with Hongik University Sejong Campus, we implemented a project where a humanoid robot performed the dance movements of master Lee Maebang, a Human Cultural Asset."

Son Ahyeon, an undergraduate student in the AI Design Department at Kookmin University who participated in the workshop with Ko, shared her experience of developing an "AI docent" using AI coding support tools such as Cursor, without any prior coding experience. Son explained, "For the graduation exhibition in September, we created an MVP (minimum viable product) in just two weeks, which allows visitors to receive explanations when standing in front of an artwork and enables real-time location tracking."

Kim Seontae, CTO and founder of N.Light, a company developing AI-based 3D design software, showcased technology that automates product design using AI. He presented a solution that allows users to instruct the AI in natural language to generate product designs and make detailed adjustments, eliminating the need for manual design, drawing much attention.

This event, hosted by the Korea Institute of Design Promotion, has been held regularly since last year to commemorate "World Industrial Design Day" on June 29, designated by the World Design Organization (WDO). It serves as a platform to share the latest AI trends and industry-specific AI strategies through case studies from various global companies both in Korea and abroad.